New York State Department of Civil Service Announces Examinations Open to All Qualified Individuals

Accountant Aide Trainee 1

This announcement is hereby amended

For Advancement in State Departments, Facilities, and Agencies

1. Within Promotion Units
2. Within Entire Departments
3. To Other Departments

This TRANSITION EXAMINATION is one of several concepts included in a Memorandum of Intent agreed to by New York State and CSEA, and is designed to provide opportunities for employees within state service.

The eligible list resulting from this transition examination will be used to fill two-year traineeships leading to Accountant Aide G-13.

Upon successful completion of the 12-month training as an Accountant Aide Trainee 1, you will automatically advance to Accountant Aide Trainee 2 at a salary of $30,655. Upon satisfactory completion of the 12-month training as an Accountant Aide Trainee 2, you will be advanced to the full title of Accountant Aide, without further examination, at a salary of $34,260.

An appointee's performance in the trainee position and in prescribed training and development programs will be observed and evaluated. The prescribed training and development program will include extensive on-the-job training and carefully designed and monitored work experience. In addition to the six credit hours required to be admitted to this examination, you must have an additional six credit hours in accounting (for a total of 12 credit hours) in order to complete this traineeship. An appointee not meeting required standards can be terminated at any time after the initial eight weeks and before completion of the traineeship. An appointee will be placed on leave from their permanent title and will revert to that title if they do not successfully complete the traineeship.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before March 29, 2008, you must be a qualified employee of New York State and have had one year of permanent competitive* or 55-b/55-c service in a position allocated to Grade 5 or higher. IN ADDITION, you must also have completed, or expect to complete by June 30, 2008, six semester credit hours of accounting courses (Fundamentals of Accounting 1 and 2, or equivalent). When applying online or on Form XD-5, you must list the courses completed or pending completion, the number of credits received, and the granting institution. Failure to do so will result in the disapproval of your application.

If you were permanently appointed to a qualifying title on or before April 29, 2007, and have served continuously in this title since that date, you are eligible to file for this examination.

* Revised Material

Qualifying Experience for Appointment from the Eligible List

After one year of the service described in the Minimum Qualifications, successful candidates will be qualified for appointment from the eligible list.

Notes

1. Your degree or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the NYS Department of Civil Service, Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S-4CDT
2. This examination has special minimum qualifications in addition to the usual "time in service requirement." If you are filing on the INTERNET, please list all pertinent information online. If you are applying on XD-5 Application Card, you must list all pertinent information on the Application Card. Attach additional sheets to your application if needed.
3. If you are considered for appointment, you must provide documentation of your college credit at the time of interview.

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Duties

As an Accountant Aide, under the direct supervision of a professional accountant or auditor, you would draft segments of audit reports and/or correspondence, assist in analyzing and evaluating financial reports and documents, verify accounting records, and review and evaluate accounting procedures.

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Subject of Examination

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. Fundamentals of account keeping and bookkeeping - These questions test for a knowledge of basic principles and practices of account keeping and bookkeeping. The questions test for recognizing account keeping and bookkeeping terms, concepts and relationships; recording financial transactions; and solving elementary problems in account keeping and bookkeeping.
2. Arithmetic reasoning - These questions test your ability to solve an arithmetic problem presented in sentence or short paragraph form. You must read the problem, understand the situation presented, decide what must be done to solve it, and apply the appropriate arithmetic operation(s) in the appropriate order, in order to determine the correct answer. Knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division will be necessary. Questions may also involve the use of percents, decimals, and fractions.
3. Preparing written material - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
4. Understanding and interpreting tabular material - These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test.
5. Understanding and interpreting written material - These questions test how well you comprehend written material. You will be provided with brief reading selections and will be asked questions about the selections. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the selections; you will not be required to have any special knowledge relating to the subject areas of the selections.

If you pass, your seniority credit(s), if any, will be included in the computation of your final score. Rank on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime veterans' credits to your final passing score.

Credit for Seniority

Seniority is credited at the rate of one credit for each five-year period (or fraction thereof), excluding the first year of service.

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How To Apply

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Religious Accommodation

Most written tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

In addition, it is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to enjoy equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their applications. Further information is available from the Special Arrangements Unit of the Department of Civil Service at 518-457-2487 [press 2, then press 2] in the Albany area, toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 2], or via TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) at 518-457-8480.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the written test three days before the date of the test, call 518-474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 1].

Multiple Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

With the exception of written tests announced by New York City, if you have applied to take a written test announced by a local jurisdiction (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must call 518-474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 1], no later than two weeks before the test date, to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center.

Eligibility for Examination

To be eligible to compete in this examination, you must be employed in the specified department or agency on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class, or in the non-competitive class or labor class if specifically noted on this announcement (or be on an appropriate preferred list), and have the specified time in the specified title or salary grade. You may not compete in a test for a title if you are permanently employed in that title (unless you are still on probation) or in a higher direct line of promotion.

S4/TA1 CDT-tlm
Issued: 1/11/08

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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